Thank You Pope Francis

With deep emotion, as Associazione Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII (APG23) we join the universal Church in mourning the death of our Holy Father, Pope Francis.

Matteo Fadda, President of APG23, remembered him with these words:

Thank you Pope Francis! In the Holy Father’s message ‘Urbi et Orbi’ on the occasion of Holy Easter, we find a passage that summarizes his entire pastoral ministry:

«On this day, I would like all of us to hope anew and to revive our trust in others, including those who are different than ourselves, or who come from distant lands, bringing unfamiliar customs, ways of life and ideas! For all of us are children of God!

I would like us to renew our hope that peace is possible! From the Holy Sepulchre, the Church of the Resurrection, where this year Easter is being celebrated by Catholics and Orthodox on the same day, may the light of peace radiate throughout the Holy Land and the entire world.»  

Pope Francis calls us to a greater responsibility through his incessant plea for peace and disarmament, he urges us to be on the side of the poorest in the world, on the side of the oppressed and the victims of the many injustices.

Thank you Pope Francis for having shown us the wonder of life, thank you for having rekindled the light of hope in this Jubilee Year.

Thank you Pope Francis for the love you have given us and for the humility you have taught us.

Thank you Pope Francis!

As member of the World Forum of Catholic-Inspired INGOs, APG23 recalls its statement issued in memory of His Holiness Pope Francis:

The Catholic-inspired International Organizations present at the International Institutions have learned with great sadness of the departure of Pope Francis to the Father’s house on April 21, 2025 in the heart of the Easter celebrations.

They join their voices to all those who are raised to give thanks to God for the pontificate of Francis. His pastoral choices centered on the “peripheries”, his presence with the poorest are the signs of an incarnation of the Gospel on a daily basis. His call to those in power to choose respect for each person, respect for the land entrusted to us, will remain among the fruits of the mission that he humbly accepted to carry out in the footsteps of Peter.

On several occasions during his pontificate, Francis has addressed Catholic-inspired International Organizations to encourage them to intensify their presence in international institutions, inviting them to make the voice of the Gospel heard. May they discover day after day the appropriate way to continue to proclaim it in the same dynamic as that of Francis : service to the poorest and presence on the peripheries.

And may Francis find serenity with the Father and enter into the joy of the Master as a “good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25). May he intercede so that the rulers of the peoples participate in the construction of a world that is ever more just and respectful of the environment in all its forms.

Photo by Maurizio Brambatti / www.semprenews.it